French Coffee Shop in Qing Zhen

French Coffee Shop:  Qing Zhen

On Sunday, we journeyed to the French Coffee Shop near the Town Square.  We have visited this shop three times now, and we have discovered that it is one of the few shops that have the air coolers.  They don’t turn on the coolers until the heat is unbearable, which is often around 3pm. 

I have discovered a cold coffee concoction that I especially like:  iced coffee with a tiny scoop of chocolate ice cream.  Refreshing on a hot and humid day.  Scott generally orders hot American-style coffee.  The staff knows us, as we have become “regulars” at this shop. 

Two carloads from Guiyang met us at the coffee shop this Sunday.  Dr. Li Lidong, who coordinates the Summer Language Institute between Oakland University and the Education Ministry of Guizhou Province, travelled from Guiyang to Qing Zhen for a social visit.  He brought several students who have studied at Oakland University to converse with all of us.  We shared many travel stories and laughed a great deal. 

The French Coffee Shop is owned by a Chinese business woman who has travelled to Paris.  She liked Paris so much that she wanted to create a Parisian atmosphere in her coffee shop.  The Eifel Tower symbol predominates and, oddly, there are photos of Marilyn Monroe decorating all the walls.  Yesterday, we also discovered the “rules” for the coffee shop, which are posted in Chinese:

*no loud conversation

*no kissing

*cannot bring in food from other places

*if you need to be relaxed, do it here

There is also a “no smoking” sign posted, but many customers do smoke in the shop.  No one says anything to them about this practice.

The shop serves coffee, tea, chicken wings, a tiramisu that tastes like custard, pudding, biscuits (cookies), and spaghetti.  Many people work on their laptops or cellphones while at the shop.  Other tables are filled with people engaged in lively and animated conversation.  Many American and European songs are played, along with the occasional Christmas carol.  Yesterday, we heard “Silent Night.”  Perhaps this winter tune cooled off a sweltering summer day.

Our days are filled with tea, both green and black.  Scott is the coffee addict of our duo, so we journey to the coffee shop occasionally for a jolt of joe.